I was the girl who did happy dances at book fairs. Whose mother rewarded her summer book reading…with more books. Who considered books an appropriate birthday, Christmas, wedding, anytime-you-wanna-say-I-love-you gift. I even trawled the campus bookstore buying up the interesting required books from other classes (sorry, Florida State!)
Needless to say, my particular brand of nerd is Book Nerd.
One of the reasons I love Atlanta is because every season is packed with so many festivals to choose from. This weekend is no different; the nerdtastic sci-fi conference DragonCon is from August 30 to September 2.
But the peach of an event I’m excited to attend is the AJC Decatur Book Festival, which kicks off today though September 1 in downtown Decatur. This will be my first year diving headlong into the fray since I’ve been a resident of the Atlanta metro area. If the thought of a three-day book fair does not curl your right pinkie toe, you probably should stop reading now. It gets mushier.
Certainly, there will be author readings and books. But also, poetry organization Java Monkey Speaks is hosting a poetry reading every 15 minutes for the entire weekend. (I think I just peed myself typing that.) The festival hosts panel discussions, writer workshops, open markets, and so many other great nerd activities.
Plus, downtown Decatur is such a fabulous place to walk around and breathe air and eat and feel like a hip hipster in the middle of a fellow book-lovers. I was just in the area last weekend and had a ball doing all of the above. I can’t wait to go back.
If you’re an Atlanta local, are you going to the Decatur Book Festival? What great festival are you looking forward to in your city?
dara t. mathis 
Oh, I knoww 😦 We’ll go next year 🙂
How mad am I that I was holed up and missed this!